Loughborough’s Santa Fun Run and Walk is now open for submissions with a special twist on this year’s event – you can dress as either a red or blue Santa Claus.

A record number of Santas took part in the Loughborough Rotary Club’s annual Santa Fun Run and Walk last year raising more than £40,000 for local and national causes.

The 5km course, which starts and finishes in the town centre, saw the largest number of entrants at 1,429.

This year’s event on Sunday, December 4, at 11am, will be in its 12th year.

The event has raised around £500,000 for local and national charities since it started in 2005.

This year, Leicester City Football Club and the Foxes Foundation will participate.

This means that entrants to this popular event will be able to select red or blue santa suits, and support a charity of their choice.

Keith Poyser, who sits on the Rotary committee, says the event is hoping to break a record by having 2,016 santas in the town centre.

He told the Echo: “We are hoping that the Foxes Foundation will help us swell our numbers. It is that time of year when we spend so much on presents and charities can be forgotten and this is a great way to make someone else’s Christmas a lot happier who are in a less fortunate position.”